OJ's TV Review - Arrow season 1

After hearing about the upcoming season 2 and a Flash spin-off I thought I'd check out this DC Universe.

  So, I don't really know many DC Characters, and so I'd never heard of the Green Arrow, but I liked the idea of the Flash and so I wanted to see what it was spinning-off from, and I'd heard this Arrow thing was pretty good. So after watching the entire first season, I have to say: I like it! This is an intense series. Arrow is jam-packed full of action, suspense, and loads of mystery; just what I like. I thought the characters were great, and each one had a story line that was interesting. And even though I don't like lengthy flashbacks, I actually enjoyed these, I think for this show it was a good idea. If you watch Arrow, then you'll certainly have a few things to think about between episodes as there can be a twist or two you're not expecting! All together I'd give season one a 9 out of 10 - TIME WELL SPENT.

OJ's Movie Review - One Direction: This Is Us

Wait, I'm actually reviewing this??

So yes, I watched One Direction's biographical/concert movie. Wasn't planned at all, a spur of the moment thing that wasn't my idea. Anyway originally I thought I wouldn't like this movie and would find it boring because I'm not a fan of One Direction at all because they are very generic and the celebrity gossip side can be annoying. But then I watched a review of it and it peeked my interest. After watching This Is Us I've noticed that they didn't make the group out to be perfect people who are easy going; One Direction do really act like a bunch of teenagers - they literally don't do much at all, they don't write the songs, pick the tour venues or anything. So in that way it shows they're not responsible for a lot of things their disliked for such as copying other people's songs or doing things past boy bands did - that's all down to Simon Cowell. It also shows the strain of being that famous such as the sudden change of life for them and their families had. So the documentary side of it was quite interesting. The movie side of the production (which was basically the concerts) were also quite entertaining, if you do go watch this then definitely go in 3D, this movie has excellent 3D effects, they did that really well, some of the things they did to amplify the 3D was quite clever as well. The bad points about the film is that some parts can be very cheesy such as getting a neuroscientist to explain the effects of 1D on fans; also Harry Styles got a bit annoying constantly going shirtless every time the camera was on. So all in all it was interesting to watch and the pranks at the end were entertaining but I still find them to be a very generic boy band and probably wont watch this movie again ever but for for my only viewing IT WAS OK+.

OJ's TV Review - Falling Skies season 3

Well season 3 of Falling Skies has been and gone now; time sure flies when your having fun.

Last year season 2 ended on what I thought was an epic cliffhanger that I couldn't wait to see what they did with. Now with Falling Skies, there are always a few months between the last scene of a season and the first scene of the new one, in this case 3, so the first few episodes you got to know whats been happening and what last seasons' effects were. Mild spoiler here but new aliens have landed! A small clan of what are called the Volm have appeared, and they have the story of trust issues in the series; two more story-lines then appeared, that which involved Hal, and one involving Tom's new daughter; the former of the two I thought was great and enjoyed it all, the latter, though, not so much, at first it was intriguing but then became quite boring and then made no sense. Even the Volm didn't have much screen time as I expected. So even though this season has my most favorite episode in it, I felt it was the weakest of the seasons we've had so far - mostly because the finale cliffhanger was just not as good as the suspenseful endings of the previous; they have a lot of explaining to do in season 4, that's for sure. All-in-all this season gets a 6/10 so IT WAS OK+.

OJ's Movie Review - Jurassic Park

A milestone in cinematic history, a huge achievement in CGI effects, and by the most well-known director in the world.

 Jurassic Park. An island full of dinosaurs who terrorize people; a simple premise but extremely well done. From beginning to end this film is just an enjoyable watch. Back in 1993 when it was released these never-before-seen effects had to have wowed audiences, and even now it still holds up with the anamatronics, CGI combo, it is really good; I've seen worst stuff in other movies and TV series. The characters I thought were pretty well done and acted, you really didn't want certain things happen to certain people and I really like Sam Neil as Alan Grant. Now, I was really exited to watch my favorite film on the big screen and especially in 3D, I watched it in IMAX as well, something I had never done before, and boy did it deliver. The 3D in this movie was one of the best I've seen in ages, better than Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 by far. Jurassic Park in the third dimension brought a whole new life too it, just some of the scenes with the trees, and leaves and then an awesome scene in the kitchen was good in 3D. So yes, I think Jurassic Park will continue being my favored film for a long time to come; I do enjoy the sequels too but this will always be... AWESOMENESS.

The OJ Reviews 1st Anniversary

WELCOME to the first ever OJ Reviews Anniversary Post; these little things will be posted annually marking the day the website was created - each post will give you updates, stats, upcoming stuff and more!
  To start this thing off I'll give you a load of statistics about the website from the past 365 days!

Stats

Numbers 

Page views of all time - 4,604

Comments of all time - 7

Subscribers of all time - 5

Top three countries that visit the site:

1. United Kingdom (1843)
2. United States (1048)
3. Germany (338)

Posts

First Post Ever - OJ Reviewing: Megamind (http://bit.ly/1nQ3SN5)
Most Viewed Post Ever - ORIGINAL VS REMAKE - King Kong (http://bit.ly/1h9Z4A3)
Longest Review Ever - Iron Man 3 (http://bit.ly/1jfyrMe)
Shortest Review Ever: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (http://bit.ly/1c4lpvT)

Changes to the Site

Now you've seen the stats and that it's still in the early stages, I'll tell so you some big changes that are coming up on The OJ Reviews.

  The description at the very top of the site that introduces everyone to what I do will change - I will completely redo that due to a better sounding intro and easier for translation into other languages. 

  Another bit of change will come to the right-hand bar. All of the little things on there will get a bit swapped around and changed, maybe some new stuff added and some stuff taken, but keep your eye out!

 Just another thing is the theme, possibly some color changes, maybe the title font and look will change, and some other bits and bobs.

Rating System

The biggest change I'm most looking forward to is the new rating system! Yes, originally I was just doing who I'd recommend it to but/and now I will be rating the things I review! How you ask? Well here is a little key:

10 = AWESOMENESS (Truly an awesome, well-made thing, I really enjoyed it)

9 = TIME WELL SPENT (There are better stuff but I didn't class reading/watching/playing this as a waste because I quite enjoyed it))

8 = I'D SEE IT AGAIN (If on TV, or a friend brought it round, I wouldn't mind but I wouldn't go out of my way for it - excludes some books & games.)

6-7 = IT WAS OK+ (It was alright but it had more good parts than bad)

4-5 = IT WAS OK- (It wasn't too bad but had more bad things than good)

3 = FAIL (Something that was hyped a lot, or tried to be something it wasn't or was just bad and a complete fail)

1-2 = SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN MADE (Can we just forget this thing ever existed? Why was this even made??)

Upcoming Stuff

Well, my next review as you probably know will be my favorite movie Jurassic Park, as I will be seeing it 3D at the cinema on Monday and then reviewing it straight after. After the month of August expect a lot of TV Series reviews including Falling Skies, Arrow, and the new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D later on! On the movie front is obviously Thor: The Dark World, maybe RED 2, and Gravity. With games, you can look forward to Oddworld: Abe's Odysee (plus sequels) and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (PC). Books, hmmmm, not particularly reading any at the moment but we'll see.

Shoutouts and the Thanks

Each year I think I'll thank everyone who have gone on The OJ Reviews and looked around, read my stuff and liked it. I'd like to thank my five only subscribers: LegoJT, pluckykelly, Lulu Newman, Georgia Newman, and Ethan Grierson. Ethan is a friend of mine and loves roller coasters and tech so you can check out his two websites:

• EJ Grierson
• Tablet and Phone Specification

So that's it. Thanks for all the views over the past year and I look forward to doing more reviews! Don't forget to subscribe, which you can by pressing one of the buttons down the right-hand bar and also visit some other sites The OJ Reviews are on:

• Google Plus
• Instagram
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Pinterest

 And don't forget, you can always comment on my posts in the comment section; if you want to debate, agree express a thought or ask for a shoutout.

OJ's Top 10 Favorite Films

For the 1st Anniversary of The OJ Reviews I have decided to count down the top ten of my favorite films I like to watch again and again. Now this list could be out of date next year, and a lot will probably change as more and more good movies are coming out, so this is my 2013 Top 10 Film list:

10. Holes

YEAR: 2003
STARS: Shia Labouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight

PLOT: A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason.

WHY I LIKE IT: A really original story, true to the book; has great mystery and good humor.

9. Life of Pi

YEAR: 2012

STARS: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain

PLOT: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery; while cast away he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal Tiger.
REVIEW: http://bit.ly/1gK7Fv6

WHY I LIKE IT: I love tigers, and I love adventure; truly epic and the visuals are stunning.

8. Jumper

YEAR: 2008

STARS: Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Rachel Bilson

PLOT: A teenager with teleportation abilities suddenly finds himself in the middle of an ancient war between those like him and their sworn annihilators.

WHY I LIKE IT: A unique story, with good CGI and Samuel L. Jackson with white hair!?

7. Iron Man

YEAR: 2008

STARS: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges

PLOT: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use the technology to fight against evil.

REVIEW: http://bit.ly/1mvxYu1

WHY I LIKE IT: A really entertaining movie with brilliant action and humor; plus set in the Avenger's universe!

6. K-PAX

YEAR: 2001

STARS: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack

PLOT: Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet; his psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.

WHY I LIKE IT: A really unusual and intriguing plot that leaves you with an open view of what just happened.

5. Captain America: The First Avenger

YEAR: 2011

STARS: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell

PLOT: After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending the USA.

REVIEW:  http://bit.ly/1l0YI3P

WHY I LIKE IT: The best of Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe I think and is really funny.

4. Iron Man 3

YEAR: 2013

STARS: Robert Downey Jr. Guy Pierce, Gwyneth Paltrow

PLOT: When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called The Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

REVIEW: http://bit.ly/1jfyrMe

WHY I LIKE IT: An awesome Iron Man film that's hilariously good and excellently cast.

3. Signs

YEAR: 2002

STARS: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin

PLOT: A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

REVIEW: http://bit.ly/1ha05rY

WHY I LIKE IT: Really suspenseful and one of M. Night Shyamalan's better movies.

2. Avengers Assemble

YEAR: 2012

STARS: Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson

PLOT: Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a team of superhumans to save the planet from Loki and his army.

REVIEW: http://bit.ly/1jSvbsL

WHY I LIKE IT: It ties in a load of movies into one universe which creates a fantastic piece of entertainment.

1. Jurassic Park

YEAR: 1993

STARS: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum

PLOT: During a preview tour a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows it's cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok.

REVIEW: http://bit.ly/1jfzD1S

WHY I LIKE IT: Dinosaurs, Spielberg, Dinosaurs

Almost Made It:

Some movies that almost made to Top 10 include:

• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• Jurassic Park III (2001)
• Windbag the Sailor (1936)
• Super 8 (2011)

Thanks for reading my list; do you agree? Do you have your own list? Comment now to tell me!

ORIGINAL VS REMAKE - Spider-Man

This Original VS Remake is all about Spider-Man from 2002 and The Amazing Spider-Man from 2012. Technically the later one isn't a remake but just a different adaption of the comics, but I'll refer to it as a remake

Original

In 2002 we got a very superhero film, one of the first of it's kind with sci-fi, humor and action. Spider-Man was just a nerdy kid who was just leaving school and worked for a newspaper company. After a spider bite he becomes the guy who can climb walls, have superior strength and shoot web from his wrists. This was all pretty good; a nice family film we can all enjoy. I mean the villain wasn't too brilliant but the story seemed to go OK. Unfortunately many people didn't like the sequels, I myself didn't think they were too bad but eventually it killed the franchise, but the first movie I always think is a good watch.

Remake

Ten years later we get a new and improved version of Spider-Man, this time he is 'Amazing'. With updated Cinematic Technology and 3D this remake was pretty good. I felt it was more realistic and more funny. I like Andrew Garfield's take on it and enjoyed quite a few things about it - although this movie is not perfect. You can see my full review HERE.

Comparison

I think Spider-Man is still a good movie now and doesn't seem out of place but The Amazing Spider-Man I enjoy more so for this Original VS Remake, the remake wins!